Sir David Dalton says a troubled hospital trust in Greater Manchester has made “incredible” improvements, despite receiving only a “fraction” of the financial support offered to struggling trusts in the south east.

Areas covered by new care model vanguards saw a fall in the GP referral rate during 2016 and 2017, and very slightly lower growth in emergency admission rates than the rest of England, analysis by HSJ indicates.

Containing and reducing emergency hospital admissions is often seen as the holy grail of sustainable and better integrated healthcare. For most it has been elusive, but HSJ has identified and spoken to several areas which appear to have seen sustained reductions in recent years.